Promised to the Beta

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Paws pound the earth, and my heart races with them. The scent asphalt and foods from the various restaurants fills my nostrils as I approach the apartment building where my pack, my family, awaits. The sky is painted in hues of twilight, and the city whispers secrets only we can hear. I slide into my human skin with a shiver that has nothing to do with the cold and head to the first floor, our convening space.

Here walls have been knocked down, apartments joined. There are offices and communal rooms, places to gather and places for our leaders to speak in hushed tones.

"Logan," I call out, my voice steady despite the drumming in my chest. He turns, his brown eyes locking onto mine, and something unspoken thrums between us.

I take a deep breath, ready to confess. "I ran into humans on the outskirts. They didn’t get me, but it was close."

His brow furrows immediately, and he steps closer, closing the distance with a predator's silent grace. "You went hunting near their houses again, Mia?" His voice is low, not quite a growl, but it carries a warning I can't ignore.

I stiffen, meeting his gaze squarely. "The rabbit wandered. I followed. It wasn't intentional." But even as I defend myself, guilt gnaws at me. We live hidden in plain sight, our existence a secret safeguarded by rules and boundaries I've just skirted dangerously close to.

Of course there is food in the city. We are surrounded by it. But he knows very well that my wolf craves something more than kabobs grilled in a food truck or vegetables grown in another state. She needs to hunt. Needs to release her wild side.

We all need that.

"Intentional or not, it's reckless." Logan’s jaw clenches, his disappointment more piercing than any scold. "What if you'd been caught? Exposed us all?"

I swallow the lump forming in my throat. "I know the risks. I was careful."

"Careful doesn't cut it, Mia." He steps around me, surveying the windows as if searching for prying human eyes. "We can't afford slip-ups. Especially now when tensions are high."

His words sting, a reminder of the fragile relationship we maintain with the city surrounding us. I watch him, the way his shoulders roll back with the weight of responsibility. As Beta, he's the backbone of Ironfur, and I've just added to his burden.

"Sorry," I murmur, the word barely audible. An apology for the mistake, and maybe for more, for the turmoil that seems to follow in my wake.

He glances back at me, the sternness in his eyes softening just a fraction. "Just... be more mindful, Mia. We can't risk drawing attention to ourselves." Logan’s concern is evident, even veiled in admonishment.

"Understood." I nod, feeling the gravity of his words settle over me like a cloak. I can't promise perfection, but for Logan, for the pack, I'll strive for it.

Logan moves closer, his presence overwhelming, enveloping. The scent that clings to him is intoxicating, familiar. I fight the urge to close the distance, to breach that professional gap we always keep between us.

"Sometimes," he starts, voice low, "I think you crave the danger, Mia."

"Maybe I do." My tone matches his, defiant yet playful. I meet his gaze, finding the amber flecks in his brown eyes that seem to glow with an inner fire. "Or maybe I'm just trying to keep up with you."

A muscle twitches in his jaw, a silent laugh or a suppressed growl, it's hard to tell with Logan. It's a dance we know well, pushing and pulling without ever falling into each other's arms.

"Keep up?" He arches an eyebrow, challenging. "Last time I checked, no one asked you to."

"Someone has to make sure you don't get your tail caught in a bear trap." I quip back, though my heart races at the thought of anything harming him.

"Is that so?" The corner of his mouth quirks up, the semblance of a smile gracing his features for a fleeting moment. "And here I thought you were too busy causing mischief to notice my whereabouts."

"Always," I retort, unable to suppress a smirk. "Who else will save you from your noble self-sacrifice?"

Silence stretches between us, a tangible thing woven with words unsaid and feelings unexplored. For a second, the world falls away—the looming city, the encroaching human world, our roles within the pack. There’s just me and Logan, standing in the twilight, our bickering a thin veil for the tension that thrums beneath the surface.

"Careful, Mia," Logan finally says, his voice a whisper against the encroaching night. "One day, you might not be there to pull me out of trouble."

"Then I'll just have to make sure there's never a 'one day,'" I reply, my voice steady despite the quickening pulse at my neck.

He studies me a moment longer, something unspoken passing through his gaze. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, he steps back, putting space between us once more.

"Get some rest," he says, turning towards the heart of the pack's territory. "We have work in the morning."

"Goodnight, Logan." My words are a soft farewell to his retreating form.

As I watch him go, the moon begins its ascent, casting silver light through the window even despite the artificial street lamps. In the quiet that follows, I can't help but wonder what might happen if, just once, we stopped dancing around the truth.